De vermakelijke groote jagt 1806 - 1830

Curator: I operate primarily as a materialist; that is to say, I focus on the processes and production involved in art making. Editor: We’re looking at “De vermakelijke groote jagt,” or “The pleasant great hunt,” a print by Johan Noman, likely created between 1806 and 1830. It's got a cartoonish quality to it. The whole thing looks like a page from a child’s book, laid out in a grid of sequential images. I'm curious, what can you tell me about this print from a materialist perspective? Curator: Let’s consider this print as an artifact of labor and social context. Think about the process: the woodcut and etching, both methods requiring skilled hands, multiple stages of production, and specialized tools. Who was the intended audience for this, and how did its accessibility influence its themes? Editor: I see what you mean. It probably took a while to create one of these. Middle-class families maybe? Did prints like this democratize art in any way? Curator: Absolutely! Prior to mass production, images were scarce and exclusive. Prints allowed for wider dissemination of visual culture, influencing popular imagination. How do you think the narrative - these hunting scenes - plays into ideas about labor, leisure, and the consumption of resources? Editor: That’s a great point; hunting would’ve been work for some but sport for others. This artwork visualizes both of those things. It highlights that dividing line in a striking way. Curator: Exactly. By examining the materiality of this print – the labor, techniques, and social context - we understand that it isn’t just a simple image. It's a cultural object reflecting the dynamics of its time. Editor: It’s fascinating how looking closely at the medium helps uncover a deeper social story within what I had thought was just a simple scene. Curator: Yes. The material and method are inextricably linked to meaning. Keep asking "how" and "why" something was made. It often reveals just as much as "what" is depicted.